<blockquote> I simply love “Fear And Greed: How did the real estate bubble get so big” I’m not sure if you are aware that there is a grass-roots group that is starting a “boycott on housing.” They feel that the prices in the San Francisco Bay Area are unreasonable. It’s kind of interesting. The website …
Category Archives: Buying and Selling
Property Taxes and Whether They Were Paid Through Escrow
my prorated property taxes came were paid at closing but now I’m getting a delinquent tax bill You mean they were supposed to be paid at closing. There are two major possibilities: 1) They were not, in fact, paid 2) They were paid, but were miscredited, or they were properly credited, but your county goofed …
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What Can You Recover From the Title Company?
“what can a consumer recover from title company for undisclosed easement” Basically, the cost of the immediate remedy, at least here in California. Here’s a standard example. Mr. and Ms. Smith buy a property and they wish to put a pool in. The purchase process reveals no easements and they quickly take possession of the …
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Buyer’s Agents: What Do They Do?
Got this search:“should I get a buyer’s agent if I’ve already found a house” The answer is almost certainly yes, but I am going to examine both the pros and cons. Full disclosure: This is what I do for a living. The con is fairly simple. If the seller isn’t paying a buyer’s agent, they …
Inducements to Use A Particular Lender for a Purchase
One of the things I’m seeing more of in MLS listings and developer advertising, among other places, is the phrase “$X in closing cost credit (or “$X in free builder upgrades”) given for using preferred lender” Sounds like a bargain, right? Just use their lender and you get this multi-thousand dollar credit. After all, “All …
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Changing the Purchase Contract
What is the reasonable amount of notice to give when changing contract terms in California That was a search I got. Unfortunately for this person, a real estate contract is not something like Lando Calrissian’s bargain with the Empire, where Darth Vader was free to alter it at will. The real estate contract is negotiated …
Appraisal Fraud
I enjoyed finding your blog today. It was enlightening, particularly in the area of real estate appraisals. Mortgage fraud is something I’ve been reading about lately. Since the FBI says 80% of it involves collusion and usually with the appraiser, it made me wonder why underwriters don’t just ask for second appraisals when a loan …
Recording Errors and Title Insurance
I just got a google search where the question asked was “What if the mortgage is recorded in the wrong county?” I’ve never actually seen this (and San Diego County, once upon a time, included what is now Riverside, Imperial and San Bernardino counties), but if it’s the mortgage on your loan, no big deal. …
What Does Escrow Do?
This is a question that gets asked a lot. Escrow is nothing more or less than a neutral third party that stands in the middle of a real estate transaction and makes certain all of the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed. They make certain that all of the terms of the contract have …
The Escrow Process and Reasons for Falling Out
There are all sorts of reasons why escrow falls through, but they fall into three main categories. They can best be described as failures of qualification, failures of the property itself, and failures of execution. Before I get into the main subject matter of the article, I need to define a contingency period. This is …
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